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Samba dancers in front of Senso-ji Temple’s gate

Nigh-naked be-feathered dancing samba girls move to the beat of Brazilian music and the feverish whirl and click of thousands of cameras held sweatily in hand by overly-enthusiastic photographers.

Every year, the samba groups choose a theme for their presentation. The nigh-naked samba girls are nearly always the same with feathers, tiara, and sequins but their companions sport different costumes every year based on a chosen theme.

Jesus makes a guest appearance

One group’s theme was based on sumo. Two performers twirled bows similar to the way that sumo wrestlers do at the end of each day of a sumo tournament. A large float was made out to depict a Yokozuna - sumo champion. The strangest part of the group by far were four golden gals wearing masks and very little else.

A Golden Duo

This year saw a bit of Akihabara otaku (nerd) culture mixed with saucy samba. Scantily-clad girls in outlandish sci-fi outfit pretended to fire space age cannons in rhythm to the music. The musicians were dressed like the bug-eyed abducting type aliens who appear in all those UFO documentaries and redneck nightmares. There were no probes to be seen, however.

Otaku (nerd) Samba - space age cuties fire imaginary rockets

Another odd ensemble was a group of pink haired heavy metal guys pulling a float from which hung suspended in air a black pig with large pink polka dots and skull and crossbones. My favorite one that summed up Japanese cutesy-ness was the midriff-baring girls wearing polar bear paws as gloves and a polar bear head as a hat.

Pink haired Heavy Metal Rockers with their pink polka-dotted pig

Polar bear girls?

The weather in Tokyo has been strange recently and it’s dubious presence was felt at this year’s Samba event. At the beginning, it was sunny, hot, and very humid. Sweat rolled down performers and spectators alike. Then suddenly the skies darkened and shortly afterward rain began cascading downward.

Unfeathered wet dancing samba girls

Spectators either opened umbrellas or fled under awnings. The samba performers did not have either option. Surprisingly they didn’t call off or postpone the event. Undaunted by the pouring rain and the potential for electrocution by their sound systems, the samba performers wiped the rain from their brows and resolutely carried on.

Damp fairies flitter about

The samba dancing girls discarded their feathers weighed down as they were with rainwater. On the bright side, the nigh-naked once-befeathered dancing samba girls were now unfeathered wet dancing samba girls - a silver lining to our rain cloud.

Rain can’t stop a samba girl from having a good time

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Even foreign residents are often invited to join in with their local community festivities. Participation can range from folk dancing, singing, demonstrating martial arts, or carrying portable shrines known as a mikoshi.

Shoppers get a special treat as fan dancers parade down the arcade

In the northern city of Sendai, the Aoba Festival celebrates the anniversary of the death of the founder of the city, Date Masamune (1567-1636). Date Masamune was a warlord who fought and survived during Japan’s Warring States Period. In the peace that followed he founded the city of Sendai.

Fan Dancers dance in front of a festival float

The Aoba Festival has all the trappings of typical Japanese festivals - decorative floats, armor-wearing samurai processions, shrine parades, taiko drumming, and dancing performances. Unfortunately, I only caught one day of this three-day festival but what caught my attention the most was the hundreds of locals performing fan dances in large groups.

People of all ages were participating from the very young to the very old. Even junior high and high school students took part which surprised me as back home that age group is generally “too cool” to be part of a community event.

High school students performing a traditional dance

The most commonly performed dance at the Aoba Festival is a fan dance which is a local Sendai tradition going back 400 years. Date Masamune ordained a castle to be built in Sendai in the Aoba district. His stone masons are said to have created a special dance known as the Suzume Odori. Suzume Odori means the Sparrow’s Dance. Dancers mimic the movements of sparrows with their fans. The Sparrow incidentally is also the Date Family crest.

Mohawk Drummer leading the pack

Group after group of Suzume Fan Dancers parade through Sendai’s shopping district giving shoppers a show. Children and grandparents alike show off their dancing skills. Granted, the timing of some of the younger ones is a bit off but no one in audience really minds.

Even the wee ones get in on the fun

DATE MASAMUNE

Date Masamune was a warlord of the Sengoku Period. This was an age of warring provinces where lords great and small struggled to expand or defend their territories. In an age of fighters, Date Masamune was one of the toughest. He survived small pox when he was young at the cost of one of his eyes. His mother spurned him and lavished her affection on his younger brother whom he was later forced to kill to preserve peace. His father was betrayed and murdered.

In his lifetime of war, though, Date witnessed the unification of the country under three successful warlords from the middle area of Japan. Date was clever enough to see which way the wind was blowing and offer allegiance to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the great unifying lords, in 1590. This was when Toyotomi was mopping up the last resistance to his control. Still even with Toyotomi’s unquestionable control of the nation, Date dared to refuse the initial summons and later delayed again Toyotomi’s second summons to offer submission. Date expected death but his fearless candor impressed Toyotomi that nothing came of his disobedience. Date later served in Toyotomi’s disastrous Korean campaigns.

A spry elder struts his stuff

After Toyotomi’s death, Date sided with Tokogawa Ieyasu who eventually became Shogun and subsequently the ruler of all Japan. Date was awarded the lands around Sendai thus becoming one of Japan’s strongest lords. He quickly turned the fishing village of Sendai into a thriving capital.

Though a warrior, Date was farsighted and encouraged dealings with other nations far from Japan - Europe to be exact, sending an envoy to Italy. Unfortunately, his early attempts at globalization came at a time when the rulers of Japan were closing its doors. He was forced to curtail further attempts at international trade while banning Christianity which had made inroads into his domain. Still despite these setbacks, Date proved himself a capable administrator and a benevolent leader to his people. It’s small wonder that the descendants of his people still celebrate him to this day.

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Children of all ages clamber in and over all the different kinds of firefighting and rescue vehicles. Their wide eyes are filled with awe and wonder which just goes to show that the love and adoration children have for firefighters is the same as it is in other parts of the world.

Children having a ball climbing over red fire engine trucks

Firefighters have long been role models for children - one of the core professions along with policemen, astronauts, doctors, and cowboys that boys want to become when they grow up. Very few boys in Western countries have ever had a Christmas where at least once there wasn’t a bright shiny red fire truck engine under their Christmas Tree.

A young boy clutching his prized fire engine

In Japan, hero-worship of firefighters goes back several centuries. There have been professional fire fighters in Japan since the 17th Century. They were known as hikeshi. The hikeshi were easily identified by their specially-made coats which sported a variety of bold artistic designs.

Hikeshi - fire fighters from Tokyo’s past

There were three kinds of hikeshi during the Edo Period (1603-1867). Those in charge of protecting the Shogun’s castle and samurai residences were known as Jobikeshi and they were part of the samurai class. The Daimyo-Bikeshi had the highest honor as they were chosen amongst the leading samurai by their lords. They protected important public buildings including rice warehouses. However, the true heroes of the masses were the Machi-Bikeshi. The Machi-Bikeshi defended the houses and buildings of the lower classes.

Wooden water handpump and firefighter hood

The Machi-Bikeshi were a rough-and-tumble lot equally admired and feared. They bore tattoos much like modern-day yakuza. They were firefighters and brawlers. Their reputation and clothes made the Machi-Bikeshi popular heroes. Hikeshi were the pin-up darlings of the 18th and 19th Century long before heart-throb firemen were adorning beefcake calendars in the West. They were the subjects of many ukiyoe (wood block print) artists. One of the most famous ukiyoe artists, Hiroshige Ando, came from a family of firefighters and was a fire fighter himself.

Matoi standards were used for identification and communication

In the early 18th Century, Machi-Bikeshi were granted the right to use Matoi, the fire standard used only by the samurai firefighters beforehand. The Matoi are three-dimensional standards used for brigade identification and communication. Each fire brigade had its own specially-designed Matoi and to carry one was seen as a special honor. During a fire, a Matoi bearer would climb onto a roof often that of a burning house to signal their comrades. Matoi bearers of different fire brigades would often race each other to reach the blaze first. Brawls between different fire brigades were not uncommon.

Hikeshi with essential equipment: ladder, hooks, and Matoi standards

Firefighting in old Tokyo - or Edo as it was called then - was a tough business. Given that the vast majority of houses and buildings were made almost entirely of wood, fires were frequent and very destructive at times. Displaying a grim sense of humor, residents referred to their flammable homes and buildings as “Edo no Hana” - “the flowers of Edo.”

Fire Towers like this one were used to alert the hikeshi fire brigades

Fire towers were place at certain intervals throughout the city to warn the local areas of impending fires. The towers contained a bell to be struck with a hammer a certain number of times depending on the blaze. A single ring meant a fire in the distance. Two rings signified a closer blaze so the local fire brigade would come together and make the necessary precautions. Continuous rings meant the fire was in the vicinity. The ranks of the fire brigade would be swelled with local volunteers. Then would begin the arduous and desperate task of trying to keep the blaze from spreading.

Ladders were used to help hikeshi to find the fires

Unlike modern firefighters who seek to extinguish fires, the hikeshi’s main task was to pull down buildings near the fire so that the flames would not spread. To accomplish this task, they carried long-handled hooks called tobiguchi. To extinguish flames, hikeshi would use buckets of course but also a type of handpump made of wood called a ryodosui which would shoot out a stream of water by use of a lever.

Firefighters on parade

Ladders called hashigo were carried to give hikeshi mobile lookout points. Since many buildings in old Edo were only two stories high, hikeshi looking to find their way to a fire could set their ladder up against any building and have a quick look about. If there were no buildings, one hikeshi would climb the ladder while their comrades held it tightly with hand and hook. This led to the tradition of nimble hikeshi performing acrobatics atop free-standing ladders.

The quintessential piece of equipment of the hikeshi was their decorative coats known as sashiko. Far from just being fashion statements, they were sophisticated pieces of firefighting technology of the time period. Sashiko were thick multi-layered coats whose making required the efforts of a spinner, weaver, artist, dyer and stitcher. Before action the sashiko were wetted down allowing firefighters and Matoi bearers to get closer to the flames, Along with the coats, fire fighters had gloves, hats, and hoods made of the same multi-layered material.

Although Edo/Tokyo suffered from many fires over the years, there is no doubt that the hikeshi were effective in preventing the city from being entirely consumed by flames on numerous of occasions.

Fire fighter in a special suit for chemical hazards

While the main purpose of the Dezomeshiki is to showcase the equipment and abilities of modern firefighting in Tokyo, the old hikeshi practically steal the show. Dezomeshiki begins with a few obligatory speeches from noted officials that can be safely missed then members of various units proudly parade by followed by firefighting and rescue vehicles of land, sea, and air.

After the parade, - the moment many have waited for - the hikeshi come on. Several hashigo ladders are put up supported by the arms and hooks of the hikeshi members. Several Hikeshi climb to the top of the free-standing ladder where they perform a number of acrobatic moves. Sometimes they will perch atop the ladder with only one leg wrapped around the pole. Other times they will “jump” off the side while holding onto the ladder’s side. The hikeshi acrobats make it look easy but there have been injuries and even deaths in the past.

A Hikeshi showing off his acrobatic abilities

After their performance, the audience might feel compelled to leave but this would be a mistake. Afterwards, Dezomeshiki kicks it into high gear resembling a Hollywood movie set. The Tokyo Fire Department puts on some realistic demonstrations of emergencies situations and responses from house fires, earthquakes, chemical hazards, and sea rescues.

These demonstrations serve to ensure the people of Tokyo that fire and rescue operation units are well trained and ready at a moment’s notice. Tokyo has seen its fair share of fires and disasters over its long history so instilling confidence in the local populace is an important matter. The worst disaster occurred in 1923 when Tokyo was hit by a massive earthquake. The Great Kanto Earthquake struck around the lunch hour. The sudden upheaval of a countless stoves and ovens cooking away created an immense fire which claimed the lives of over 100,000 people.

Live action demonstration of firefighters taking care of a building fire

At the closing ceremony, several fire engine trucks parked in a row lift their ladders high into the sky. Then all at once they drop multi-colored streamers while flying the Japanese flag. Firefighters shoot jets of water high overhead as helicopters fly by in tight formation. A perfect ending for even the most jaded of children.

Dezomeshiki takes place every year on January 6th in Odaiba. The Tokyo Fire Department puts on other demonstrations throughout the year and hikeshi societies do acrobatic performances throughout the year in many parts of Japan.

A Japanese firefighter from ages past perches on an old ladder

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For about a month from late January, the narrow streets of the old part of the town are illuminated by lamps made of bamboo…

… and Japanese parasols.

In some courtyards, the displays are even more elaborate.

And at a shrine behind the main streets, the atmosphere was breathtaking.

A larger set of photographs of Yamaga’s Toro Roman Festival is available here.

All photos © All rights reserved

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With parades, dances and other performing arts displays, there’s plenty to see and do during the daylight hours, but of course the festival really comes into its own after nightfall. The most elaborate displays are at Chuo-Koen -

- but the side streets are alive with colour too.

As are the stone bridges along the river, the most popular one of which is the famed Meganebashi (Spectacles bridge - named for the shape of its reflection) -

From the spectacular…

…to the traditional…

…and the less traditional, but equally popular!

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Shrine attendants work to clear a path

What makes this snowfall particularly significant if not ominously suspicious was the date. Feb. 3 is the Japanese holiday of Setsubun, a day when Japanese seek to drive bad luck out of their homes and bring in happiness. Setsubun is a more active version of Groundhog Day where Japanese take matters into their own hands to try and bring an earlier end to winter. On the old Japanese calendar, Setsubun was considered the day before Spring - despite the real Spring being a few more weeks away.

Praying to a snowy Buddha for perhaps warmer weather

The bad luck is represented by Oni - Japanese devils. There are many devils in Japanese folklore which can be good, bad, or neutral. The Setsubun Devils are known for being one of the bad ones. They are typically believed to be invisible intangible spirits that will inhabit places to bring misfortunate to all if they are not driven out. Their visible appearance is that of a shirtless devil with horns, shaggy hair, sharp claws and teeth, and wearing tiger pants. They come in red, green, and blue colors. If their sharp teeth and claws aren’t enough, they have heavy iron-studded clubs as well. This fierce creature is partially based on the Chinese Zodiac signs of the ox (ushi in Japanese) and tiger (taro in Japanese). Ushitaro means “North Gate.” North was considered a very unlucky direction in Ancient China (probably because so many invaders came from that way) and this belief was adopted by the Japanese in the 8th and 9th Centuries.

A Snow-covered Kabuki Star

Snow at Senso-ji Temple is Asakusa, Tokyo

Along with bad luck, Setsubun Devils represent Winter and the old year too. The ceremony of driving the devils out symbolizes the ending of Winter and the coming of Spring while making everything new for the New Years. Setsubun is close to the Chinese New Years and before Japan switched to the Western calendar system, Setsubun was the day before the Chinese New Year. Japanese want their homes to be free of all the old bad feelings of the previous year. Setsubun is a bit of “out with the old; in with the new” of New Years, spring cleaning, and exorcism at the same time.

Zojo-ji Temple in Tokyo

This Setsubun if one were inclined to see the supernatural in everything and believe in omens as people did in olden times this, they might believe the sudden snowfall to be devil-wrought. Perhaps the snow was a diabolical sneak attack by the devils in the early morning hours to thrawt the Setsubun exorcism activities at shrines and temples. In these places, beans and other such items are thrown “to” not “at” gathered crowds. This is known as mame-maki. It is believed that to catch such items, a person will have good luck all year.

Some Ninja and a walking bag of chips prepare to do Mame-Maki at Zojo-ji

Ninja Chips - crunchy and deadly snackfood for the assassin in all of us

Although the devils threw quite a bit of snow which caused a number of train delays, there were still crowds of people at temples and shrines, their hands outstretched looking for a bit of luck. I went to my favorite temple for mame-maki: Zojo-ji in Hamamatsucho. Zojo-ji always has a few celebrities and a sumo wrestler doing mame-maki. Their mame-maki has more than just a handful of tossed beans. I got several bags of snack food, two wash clothes, nine packets of bean, and six health bars. the health bars were dangerous! I got hit in the head twice and once right smack in my face.

Snowfall at Kanda Myojin Shrine

Decorations at Kanda Myojin Shrine

After that I went to Kanda Myojin Shrine where I saw two Setsubun devils prance about on a catwalk seeming to enjoy the mayhem the weather had caused. At Kanda Myojin Shrine they do a traditional mame-maki where they throw handfuls of individual beans rather than packets. The beans were rather difficult to pick out from the heavy snow flakes that were coming down. No one bothered to pick any of the beans up that had fallen on the ground. At Zojo-ji because everying is in a package, you have people going up and down for mame-maki. This makes for a writhing crowd as some people are jumping up to catch packages while others are diving down to get the fallen ones and getting bumped heads in the process.

A Devil revels in the mayhem of an unexpectant snowstorm

A Kimono-clad girl indulging in mame-maki at Kanda Myojin shrine

After Kanda Myojin’s mame-maki, we were lead into a room where we could choose small packages of beans, candy, and oranges. All in all I had a decent Setsubun mame-maki haul by the end of the day.

A decent Setsubun Mame-Maki haul

In the end despite the weather, the Setsubun exorcism ritual must have worked. The next morning the sun came out and melted the snow away. Better luck next year, devils!

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